Texas showed itself as a comer at the 2012 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Boulder, Colorado. Six Texas breweries took home nine awards for best beers.

Austin-area breweries were big winners, taking home six of the Lone Star State's awards. Three gold medals went to Spoetzl Brewery, maker of Shiner; one gold medal was awarded to Uncle Billy's, and two silver medals went to Real Ale.

Dallas-Fort Worth also fared well at the awards. Peticolas Brewing Co., launched in January 2012 , took the gold in the "classic English-style pale ale" category for its Royal Scandal, an English pale ale known for its slightly bitter, European flavor profile. Fort Worth's Rahr & Sons Brewing Company took home a silver medal for its Iron Thistle, a dark Scotch ale.

GABF is the largest commercial beer competition in the world. Brewers received gold, silver and bronze medals in 84 categories covering 134 different beer styles, establishing the best examples of each style in the United States. A total of 254 awards were presented.

Winners were chosen from 4,338 entries from 666 breweries, hailing from 48 states, Washington, D.C., and Guam — its largest field of entries ever and a 10 percent increase over 2011.

Below is the full list of winners from Texas:

Gold, Shiner Bock, Spoetzl Brewery, winner in the American-style dark lager category, from a field of 12 entries

Gold, Royal Scandal, Peticolas Brewing Co., winner in the classic English-style pale ale category, from a field of 29 entries

Gold, Shiner Oktoberfest, Spoetzl Brewery, winner in the German-style Märzen category, from a field of 32 entries

Gold, Shiner Bohemian Black Lager, Spoetzl Brewery, winner in the German-style Schwarzbier category, from a field of 32 entries